A. Ezra—Breeding the Black-throated Cardinal



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BREEDING THE BLACK-THROATED

CARDINAL


(.Parvaria gularis)


By Alfred Ezra


Although I have had four of these most attractive birds for some

years, I have never been lucky enough to breed any. They have nested

before, but each time unsuccessfully. This summer one pair, in one

of my large aviaries, built a nest on the top of a Cupressus. The nest

was made of dried grass, so roughly that had it not been supported

by me with some twigs that I placed under it during incubation, it

would have fallen to pieces. Two eggs were laid by the 1st July.

Colour of eggs pale grey, heavily speckled with red and brown spots.

Two young hatched out on 13th July, and both left the nest thoroughly

reared on the 27th July. Colour of young black, wings and tail slaty-

grey, underparts white, head black, cheeks and throat very pale red,

beak and legs slaty-grey. The young were fed on mealworms, gentles,

and insectivorous food, and the parents had access to mixed seed, but

they were never seen to feed the young after eating seed. As I write

this on the 4th August, the two young are very strong on the wing,

and feed themselves well. I believe this is the first time this Cardinal

has been reared in captivity.



A CROSS-BRED STANLEY x ROSELLA

PARRAKEET


By Helmut Hampe


Some years ago I was offered a newly imported pair of Stanley

Parrakeets and accepted them at once, for it had long been my wish

to possess a pair of these most beautiful and elegant examples of the

genus Platycerus. When the birds arrived, in good plumage and excellent

health, there was a noticeable difference in their colouring : the one,

obviously an old male, was clad in the deepest, most velvety scarlet.



